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Setting Research Priorities for Lewy Body Dementia in Ireland

Aim: To set priorities for research to inform health and social care planning for people with LBD and their care partners in Ireland.

Specifically, this project will:

Objective 1: Identify the evidence gap and priority needs for LBD by incorporating multiple stakeholder perspectives, with strong 'patient and public involvement (PPI)', based on gold standard JLA methods.

Is Ireland prepared for the new disease-modifying therapies (DMT) for Alzheimer’s? Scoping perspectives and attitudes of lay stakeholders

No new Alzheimer's drug treatment had be licensed for 20 years until 2021, when the first Alzheimer's disease-modifying therapy (DMT) was licensed in the USA, giving hope of slowing/reversing the disease. Several new DMTs are expected. Unfortunately, offering DMTs in Ireland requires significant changes in Memory Clinic set-up, due to high drug costs and need for careful monitoring. Moreover, DMTs only work in people in early Alzheimer's, which is often unrecognized in Ireland.

EMERALD-Lewy: Improving the diagnosis, management, and lived experience of overlooked dementias in Ireland

Lewy body dementias (LBD, including Parkinson's dementia and Lewy body dementia) accounts for >20% of the nearly 65,000 people with dementia in Ireland. LBD is ‘the most common form of dementia no-one has heard about’. Fewer than 5% of those affected receive a formal diagnosis. LBD is characterised by cognitive-behavioural and physical changes which significantly impact quality of life and care burden. Knowledge, awareness and support in Ireland for LBD is minimal.

The Role of Lingo1 and BK Channels in tremor

Parkinson’s disease is a debilitating disorder characterised by movement disorders, including tremor, cognitive dysfunction and non-motor impairments. It is the second most common age-related neurodegenerative disease with ~10 million sufferers worldwide, but the causes of tremor are poorly understood and treatment is wholly inadequate.

PROMED-EX Randomised Controlled Trial: Effects of PROtein enriched MEDiterranean Diet and EXercise on nutritional status and cognition in adults at risk of undernutrition and cognitive decline.

The PROtein enriched MEDiterranean Diet and EXercise (PROMED-EX) randomised controlled trial (RCT) aims to determine the efficacy of a protein-enriched Mediterranean diet, with and without exercise, in comparison with standard care, on nutritional status and cognition in adults at risk of undernutrition with subjective cognitive decline. The project will explore the mechanistic pathways in diet-exercise induced change in nutritional status and cognition.

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